Senate committee advances broad gambling overhaul including fixed-odds wagering and higher age limit

The Senate Standing Committee on Licensing and Occupations voted April 1 to advance House Bill 904, a comprehensive rewrite of state gambling law that sponsors say is intended to modernize regulation and protect consumers while critics say it expands gambling beyond constitutional limits. The committee adopted the Senate committee substitute and then voted the amended bill favorably, 10-0.

Sponsor Representative Michael Meredith told the committee the substitute creates a licensing and regulatory framework for fantasy sports, updates definitions for emerging markets, and builds protections into online platforms. "The bill that that you have before you today in the Senate Committee Substitute is a comprehensive piece of legislation dealing with nearly every area that is regulated by the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Commission to make sure that wagering in Kentucky is safe and protected," Meredith said.

Among the bill's major provisions, sponsors said, are: prohibiting people on the Attorney General's child-support arrearage list from placing bets on online platforms; licensing and taxing fantasy sports (the substitute keeps fantasy at age 18 while sports betting age is raised to 21); new definitions and restrictions on prediction markets that would bar licensees from contracting with or sharing proceeds of prediction markets operating in Kentucky; authorization of fixed-odds wagering in the horse-racing space together with a purse stabilization fund to ensure purses remain supported; mandated tote-system technology updates by April 1, 2027 and a requirement that wagering be disabled no later than the starting gate opening; and a moratorium on new charitable-gaming licenses while the legislature establishes rules via a task force.

The substitute also includes technical and consumer-protection provisions: sponsors said taxes on fixed-odds wagers would mirror existing sports-betting taxes (9.75% for in-person wagers and 14.25% for online/mobile wagers), the bill raises some fee caps (examples discussed included raising a cap to $5,000 and changes from $300 to $1,000 in another spot), creates a transition period for charities using third-party "middlemen," and exempts small community events such as church and community picnics from certain charitable-gaming restrictions.

Opponents raised constitutional and public-health concerns. David Walls, executive director of the Family Foundation, urged committee members to oppose the measure, calling it an unlawful expansion of gambling. "This bill is unconstitutional. HB 904's legalization of fixed-odds wagering is an unconstitutional expansion of gambling," Walls said, citing Section 226 of the Kentucky Constitution and arguing fixed-odds wagering changes the legal character of wagering in the state. He also warned of increased addiction, citing state hotline data and national trends among young adults.

Sponsors and committee members exchanged questions and clarifications on several contentious points. On prediction markets, Meredith said federal rules and Commodity Futures Trading Commission interpretations currently limit the state's ability to regulate but the substitute gives the commission authority to adopt regulations if federal or judicial interpretations change. On age verification, sponsors said the bill requires a full age-verification process rather than a simple birthdate entry, and that the change to a 21-year-old floor for sports betting was a policy choice responding to public concern even though some sponsors said they personally favored keeping legal wagering at 18.

Committee members expressed mixed views during debate, repeatedly describing the measure as difficult and consequential. Several senators said they were "torn"—supporting protections for the horse-racing industry and consumer safeguards while worrying about the expansion of wagering and youth exposure. After recorded roll-call explanations from multiple members, the committee recorded a favorable report with 10 yes votes and no nays.

The committee also described next steps embedded in the substitute: formation of a summer task force to establish the corporation's structure and rules for charitable gaming, a transition period for charities that had relied on third-party middlemen, and a mandate that tote systems be updated by April 1, 2027 to reduce lag times during races.

The transcript of this meeting does not record any floor action; the committee vote in this session advanced the substitute out of committee for further legislative processing.